SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The highest scoring team in the West Coast Conference was too much for Santa Clara women's basketball as Saint Mary's left Leavey Center with a 83-59 win Saturday afternoon.
The Gaels (11-7, 4-3 WCC) dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Broncos (9-9, 2-5 WCC) 50-20 with a 19-6 edge on the offensive glass. Saint Mary's turned their offensive rebounds into a 22-2 advantage in second chance points.
The free throw line proved to be another advantage for Saint Mary's on the day. The Gaels were 14-for-18 from the charity stripe while the Broncos got there nine times, while making six.
"Saint Mary's outplayed us in every facet of the game today," Santa Clara head coach Bill Carr said. "We have to go back to the drawing and figure it out before our trip to the Northwest."
A 14-0 run that began with 1:56 to go in the first quarter and ended with a Madeline Holland jumper at 8:31 in the second built a 25-10 lead for the Gaels and they never looked back. Sam Simons scored seven, including a pair of 3-pointers, with Emily Codding also connecting from deep during the run.
Simons and Codding helped lead a balanced Gaels attack that saw four players in double-figures. Simons scored a game-high 19 on five 3-pointers with Holland and Megan McKay both adding 13. Codding finished the day with 10 points.
As a team, Saint Mary's picked up 27 assists on 29 made baskets with eight players having at least two helpers and 10 having at least one.
The offense picked up for the Broncos in the third quarter with 19 points, including 10 from Lauren Yearwood and five from Charise Holloway but Saint Mary's was red hot in the quarter, shooting 9-for-14 from the floor and still managed to stretch its lead.
Yearwood finished with a team-high 14 points, one off her season high, and added five rebounds and three blocks. Holloway scored a season-high 12 with Ashlyn Herlihy adding eight and Tia Hay chipping in seven.
Santa Clara fought to get back within 11 in the second quarter but the Gaels responded with an 8-0 run despite missing four field goal attempts in a row, thanks to six free throws, to get the lead back out to 40-21.
HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS | The Broncos made some plays at both ends of the hardwood today against Saint Mary's! #StampedeTogether #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/PW7XSahFcs
— Santa Clara Women's Basketball (@Santaclarawbb) January 20, 2019
NOTES
- Santa Clara is now 35-41 all-time against Saint Mary's.
- With three blocks, Lauren Yearwood is at 46 on the year. That is good for sixth on the Santa Clara single-season list. She is on pace to break the Bronco record of 73 set by Annie Garrison set in 1998-99.
- The Broncos forced 16 turnovers while committing just nine.
UP NEXT
The Broncos are right back on the road, playing at Portland Thursday at 7 p.m.
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